President Chen Shui-bian departed on "The Journey of Mutual Friendship and Sustained Development" at 10:50 a.m. (Taipei time) on January 13. The trip will take the president to Guatemala, a diplomatic ally, where he will attend the inauguration ceremonies for Guatemala President-elect Alvaro Colom. From Guatemala, the president will make a short stop in the Caribbean nation of St. Lucia, another diplomatic ally of the ROC (Taiwan).
Shortly after the take-off of President Chen's chartered plane, the president went through the aircraft to extend his regards and shake the hands of the people in his delegation, the behind the scenes workers and members of the press corps. The president thanked everyone for working together in supporting Taiwan's diplomatic efforts. After a flight lasting over eight hours, the president's aircraft landed at Anchorage International Airport in Alaska at 1:40 a.m. on January 13 (6:40 p.m. January 13 Taipei time). During the brief stopover, American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond F. Burghardt and ROC representative to the United States Joseph Wu boarded the plane to welcome President Chen. The president was then escorted to a guest room at the airport where he held talks with the officials. During the cordial talks, the president expressed his appreciation to Chairman Burghardt for making the trip to Alaska and greeting him at the airport despite it being the wee hours of the morning. In addition to expressing a warm welcome to President Chen, Chairman Burghardt also wished the president and his delegation a successful and smooth journey.
After meeting for about one hour, Chairman Burghardt accompanied President Chen back to the plane. The two shook hands and the president entered the aircraft, which then took off and headed for Guatemala. The president's plane arrived at Guatemala City's military airport at 3:30 p.m. on January 13 (5:30 a.m. January 14 Taipei time). ROC (Taiwan) Ambassador to Guatemala Hong-lien Ou and Guatemala's chief of protocol boarded the president's plane to greet him. In addition, Guatemala Foreign Minister Gert Rosenthal was waiting at the stairs at the bottom of the plane to welcome President Chen. An honor guard escorted President Chen to a dais where he waved to the press and expressed his gratitude.
The president then headed for the Camino Real Hotel for a short rest before meeting with El Salvador President Antonio Saca, who is also in Guatemala to witness the inauguration of President-elect Colom. The two leaders met for about 30 minutes. Also in attendance were ROC (Taiwan) Minister of Foreign Affairs James C. F. Huang, Minister of Economic Affairs Steve Ruey-long Chen, ROC (Taiwan) Ambassador to Guatemala Hong-lien Ou, and Deputy Secretary-General to the President Lin Chia-lung.
President Chen first thanked President Saca for arranging the meeting, adding that he is delighted to have the opportunity to meet with his counterpart in Guatemala. The president said that he led a delegation on a visit to El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua in August of last year. He said he feels a close bond with President Saca as they have come to develop a good friendship.
President Chen also expressed his deepest appreciation to the government and people of El Salvador for their long-term staunch support for Taiwan. The president, on behalf of the government and 23 million people of Taiwan, especially thanked El Salvador for speaking on behalf of Taiwan in the international community and supporting Taiwan's efforts to join the United Nations, the World Health Organization and other international bodies. The president also told President Saca that Taiwan's legislature in December passed the Taiwan-El Salvador Free Trade Agreement, and said he hopes the El Salvador Legislative Assembly will also complete screening the pact as soon as possible. The agreement will help to attract and encourage more Taiwan businesses to invest in El Salvador, he said.
President Chen also recollected that when he visited El Salvador last year, he agreed to be a spokesman for El Salvador coffee. At the time, he bought quite a bit of that nation's aromatic coffee and presented it to friends in the Taiwan business community, which said the flavor of the product was outstanding. He also noted that he has promoted El Salvador coffee in his e-journal that is issued by the Presidential Office. The Taiwan External Trade Development Council plans to send a delegation to El Salvador this month to see first-hand the state of coffee production in the nation and begin buying coffee beans. The president said he is confident this will be a major step forward in promoting the visibility of El Salvador coffee.
President Saca thanked President Chen and the 23 million people of Taiwan for their support and concern for his nation. He reaffirmed the strong diplomatic alliance between the two nations and said in the future El Salvador will continue to be Taiwan's most loyal friend in the international circle. President Saca said he hopes to lead a group of business leaders to Taiwan in the near future and to participate in a free trade agreement forum. The two nations will continue to discuss means to enhance interaction and cooperation, leading to greater wellbeing for the people of Taiwan and El Salvador, he said.
President Chen welcomed President Saca's statements, and said that he hopes that before he leaves office on May 20, President Saca will visit Taiwan so that he can personally welcome him. He said it would be his pleasure to embrace his good friend from a distant land.
In the evening, President Chen met with outgoing President Oscar Berger Perdomo at the National Palace of Culture. He also took part in a reception attended by guests from throughout the world to toast the outgoing president and his wife, after which he attended a dinner hosted by the Guatemala government.